The Story Behind ACS
Our Beginnings
Two events occurred in 1996 that were the springboard for what became the Arapahoe Charter School. The first was the decision by the Pamlico County Board of Education to close the old Arapahoe Elementary School and bus the students to a consolidated school in Bayboro. The second was the passage of a bill in the North Carolina General Assembly to allow the establishment of charter schools.
The Arapahoe community did not want to lose their school for such a school had been part of the community since 1860. When it became clear that the Pamlico County Board of Education would not change their plans to close the existing school, leaders in the community saw the newly passed charter school legislation as their only option.
A number of community members, parents, and teachers formed a non-profit organization and began the process of applying to become one of the first charter schools in the state. A major component of this application was the Mission Statement which envisioned a small community school in which decision-making and governance are shared by teachers, parents, and community members. Now in its twelfth year of operation, the Mission Statement remains unchanged. It has been incorporated in the annual student handbook, posted in each classroom, and presented to students and parents alike at the beginning of each new school year.
Our Students and Programs
The Arapahoe Charter School is a public school of choice serving children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Although many of the students live in Arapahoe, the enrollment includes children from other parts of Pamlico County as well as from surrounding counties of Craven, Beaufort, Carteret, and Jones. Our current enrollment is approximately 345 students. The original concept was for Arapahoe to remain small with no more than two classes per grade level. It is our belief that smaller class sizes give each student more of an opportunity to excel.
Our academic program takes its lead from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and our students participate in the state’s standard assessments. In addition to the “3 Rs”, students may take classes in art, music, character, band, and Spanish. Our Exceptional Children’s program includes both remedial and academically gifted students. Academic teams compete in Oddysey of the Mind, Battle of the Books, Math Counts, and History Bowl often bring home top honors and trophies.
In athletics, the school offers an excellent physical education program as well as competitive sports. Our middle school teams are in the Crystal Coast Middle School Conference playing volleyball, basketball, softball, baseball, and soccer. An extramural triathlon team began about four years ago with a handful of students and now has over 50 participants.
Our Facilities
On opening day in August of 1997, the students attended classes in community rooms of four local churches, a Masonic Lodge, and a summer camp facility as the permanent buildings were not ready until early November. A challenge – yes! An impediment – no!
There is over 52,000 square feet of classroom and administrative space housed in 4 buildings built around a courtyard. The primary grades, the elementary grades, and the middle school grades are each housed in their own buildings. The administrative building holds a full service cafeteria, complete library and media center, as well as administrative offices and room for the school nurse.
In 2002 the school added instructional, meeting, office, storage, and athletic space by building a 17,500 square foot community gymnasium. These facilities are available for community use including scouting activities, local sporting events, yoga classes, and family reunions. In 2004 the parking lot and driveways of the school were paved and a Sprint T-1 line was connected to the school, upgrading each classroom’s internet connectivity.
Low interest loans for these improvements were secured from USDA Rural Development and Wachovia Bank as well as various grants. The current Charter School Law prohibits charter schools access to the capital outlay funding given to traditional public schools and also prohibits the use of state funds for the purchase facilities.
Our Technology
With over 250 workstations, ACS has a student to computer ratio of 1.4 to 1. We are served by 10Mbps fiber from Embarq. A laptop cart is available for checkout from the library. Every core classroom is equipped with a mounted projector, document camera, interactive tablet and laptop computer. ACS has an approved Technology Plan for 2009-2013 and receives some E-rate funding. Staffing includes a computer teacher/technician and a technology assistant.
The Area
Arapahoe Charter School is located in the village of Arapahoe in the south central part of Pamlico County of eastern North Carolina. The Arapahoe Town Council continues to be very supportive of the school by providing cash grants each year in support of school activities. A major part of the local economy water based and includes fishing, crabbing, shrimping, and seafood processing. Other related occupations are boat building, boat repair, sail construction and outfitting, docking, and real estate brokering. A number of people to work at the NADEP facility of Cherry Point Marine Air Station in Havelock (10 miles away), PCS Phosphate in Aurora (35 miles away), as well as New Bern (28 miles away). There is a large and growing retirement community in the area from which the school has been fortunate to draw education interest and skills. The minority population of the area around Arapahoe is about twenty percent, with a mix of African-Americans and Hispanics.
